


Kar’taylir

by jolver



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Republic Commando Series - Karen Traviss
Genre: F/M, I just had to write this, Ordo and Besany are my otp tbh, warning: extreme fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-08-10 17:00:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7853539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jolver/pseuds/jolver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kar’taylir: to know, to hold in the heart. </p><p>An accumulation of little Besany/Ordo mini-fics, in which both Besany and Ordo fall in love (even more than they already have).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Slow Love

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick note: I wrote this fic with the song _All About Us_ , by He is We, in mind - so if you want, listen to that while reading this!  
> 

They were the only ones in the house. Everyone else had gone off on errands, or, in Mereel's case, to meet a new girl, and the bastion had an almost empty feel to it.

Being completely alone in Kyrimorut with her husband was a new feeling for Besany, and she found she kind of liked it, for reasons she couldn't quite articulate to herself, although she was trying. It felt… sort of like being _normal_. Not, of course, that she would ever willingly change her life in Kyrimorut for a formulaic life out in Coruscant.

No, Besany thought. The only thing she had to say about the new experience was that it was nice to know that nobody was around to see or hear you, should you be doing anything potentially embarrassing. Besany’s cheeks darkened as her mind suggested a few examples of _potentially embarrassing_ activities – she'd been spending too much time around Mereel, obviously – but she pushed the thoughts down. Now was definitely not the time.

Besany was leaning against Ordo in the _karyai_ , on the couch next to the (now empty) fireplace, both of them engrossed in their own personal datapads. Besany glanced up at Ordo, taking the time to look at him – properly study him, not just _look_ at. There was a difference, Besany had found. Just _looking_ at a person prevented you from seeing the small details: the ones that weren't supposed to matter, but did, in the best way.

Sensing her eyes on him, Ordo glanced down at her. “What's up, _cyar’ika_?”

Besany leaned against him some more, her head resting on his shoulder. “Nothing. Just…admiring.”

Ordo laughed, a deep sound starting from his chest and pushing its way out into the open air. They were quiet for a few more moments when, suddenly, music started to play from his ‘pad – a slow song with a pleasant melody and a clear beat. Looking over in surprise, Besany started to ask but stopped talking when he stood up from the couch, a slightly nervous grin on his face. Extending his hand towards her, Ordo inclined his head and flicked his eyes to his hand to indicate to her that she should take it. Besany complied, and he pulled her up to stand next to him. Still puzzled, Besany kept silent, waiting for him to speak.

Smile creasing the ends of his eyes, Ordo asked, “May I have this dance?”

Besany’s grin was an immediate answer. “Yes,” she whispered, and took his hand.

Ordo was easily able to arrange his hands in the classic holovid way, with his right hand on Besany’s waist and his left hand clasped tightly with her right; Besany’s left arm was twined around his neck. They didn’t have much in the way of dancing style, but it wasn’t hard to slowly sway to the beat, eyes closed and foreheads almost touching. Their feet were slightly clumsy, not perfectly in sync – but it didn’t _matter_ – and perhaps because of all the imperfections, it was perfect.

Besany could feel Ordo’s breath on her cheek as he hummed along to the song, his chest rumbling with the sound. When Besany opened her eyes, it was to the sight of Ordo’s eyes on her, smile soft and eyes warm, looking at her like there was no woman more perfect. Besany could feel herself falling in love all over again.

Ordo tugged at Besany’s hand to allow for her to perform a spin. As she twirled, she found herself laughing lightly, more carefree than she could remember. And when Ordo pulled her back snug against his chest, she smiled into his lips as they kissed, right there in the middle of the room, in love and content with only each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karyai: living room  
> Cyar’ika: darling, sweetheart, beloved (intimate)
> 
> I like to think Ordo learned how to slow-dance from watching a holovid with Ny, and Ny - being the experienced freighter pilot - told him to dance with Besany. Ny was the one responsible for getting everyone out of the house, and while this fic is taking place, everyone's in Keldabe, waiting impatiently for Ny to let them back into Kyrimorut.


	2. Holovid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Besany and Ordo have a movie night - or, rather, a holo night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place around the end of _True Colors_ , so Besany and Ordo are still dating here.

_Loiane Lais looked around, confused. Who was calling her name? And then she saw him. Her lover, Clarent Kerk! He’d found her, at last! They’d been separated in the chaos that had resulted from the destruction of her planet, Neyork, but there he was, standing across the picturesque meadow._

_Loiane ran to him, shouting his name, almost afraid it was a dream, and he was running and shouting too, and they embraced and Loiane buried her face in his shoulder. And then Clarent Kerk picked her up and they kissed passionately and_ –

The screen went black and the credits started rolling. Besany sighed happily at the ending of another good holovid – this one was called _Mupersan_ – and relaxed, leaning backwards. She and Ordo were sitting on the couch in Besany’s apartment, watching a holovid. Ordo was promised a couple days off, and they had decided to take full advantage of it, starting it off with a good holo. Besany was infinitely glad she had done the research on the reviews for this one to make sure it had a good plot and enough angst to make it satisfying.

After all, she _knew_ Ordo had a secret fondness for holovids, even if he wouldn’t admit it.

She looked over, intending to ask Ordo if he was hungry, when she noticed that there was…water? On his face? Why was there water on his face? As far as she knew, they hadn’t brought any drinks over to the couch, and besides, Ordo was way too aware of his surroundings to spill anything on himself…

These thoughts ran through her head in rapid succession – and then, equally quickly, she realized what had happened. Ordo was _crying_. He was in emotional knots over a _holovid_. Besany almost laughed, but then stopped herself, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

“Sweetheart?” she asked, unable to prevent herself from smiling oh-so-slightly.

Ordo cleared his throat once, refusing to look at her. “...What?”

“Are you crying over the holovid?”

“...Maybe.”

At this, Besany couldn’t hold it in anymore, and she giggled despite her firm determination to do nothing of the sort. “Okay, honey. I won’t tell anyone.”

Clearing his throat again, Ordo sneaked a glance at her. Besany had stopped laughing by now, and she was watching him, sort of worried. Normally, after she teased him, he would laugh with her and then maybe tease her back, or just change the subject. What was…?

Ordo answered her unspoken question as if he’d read her mind. “It’s just…nice to, uh, see the odds beaten, for once. They didn’t – you know. They both…lived. They were both _happy_.” His words were hesitant, tentatively spoken. He still wouldn’t look at her.

Besany’s smile faded. She laid a hand on his forearm and leaned forward. “Ordo…” Her expression was sad – every time she was reminded of the tough childhood Ordo had had, she knew that Ordo would never get the justice he and his brothers deserved. It wasn’t _fair_. Never mind that fairness had little to do with real life: Ordo and his brothers would’ve been mincemeat at the hands of Ko Sai and her cronies.

And it didn’t help that Besany could do nothing to stop the fact that Ordo might die.

Before Besany could try to console him, Ordo spoke, apologizing with an almost-childlike air – of course, the result of his accelerated aging. Besany was angry about that, too. “I’m sorry. I ruined your – _our_ night. I – I shouldn’t have –”

“It’s okay,” Besany interrupted him gently. She cupped his face between her two hands and looked into his eyes. “I love you, okay? Never forget that. I love you, and nothing can change that.”

Ordo’s eyes were innocent in their hurt – but not in what had hurt him. He had seen things that would make ordinary men (and even _extraordinary_ men) cower in fear, yet he had lived and _survived_. Survived not just with his life, but with his humanity, his ability to _love_.

Besany would do anything for him, and she was unashamed of the fact.

Ordo looked back at Besany, his eyes still steadily holding hers. “I love you too,” he said. “And nothing can change that.”

Besany smiled at him and let go of his face. Now, her hands played with his fingers as they sat next to each other, comfortably _together_. The ridiculously over-the-top soundtrack of _Mupersan_ played in the background as Besany laid her head on Ordo’s shoulder, and Ordo laid his head on top of hers. And then they began to talk, talking until the moon had well and truly risen, until they fell into each other more deeply than they had ever before.

The night flowered beauty in their love. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interpret the ending as you will.
> 
> Agh, this was supposed to be a lighthearted fic! Unfortunately, my brain had other ideas. This might be the first time that Besany and Ordo say that they love each other (just makin' things up here...). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the movie references at the beginning; I had fun with that \ (•◡•) /
> 
> As always, I love reviews, kudos, and concrit.


	3. First Realizations

“Take care of yourself…Trooper Corr.” 

Besany smiled and watched as Ordo informally saluted her and replied, “You too, ma’am. You too.” Both of them stayed in their positions for another second, seemingly unwilling to move – or at least, that was what Besany hoped was Ordo’s reasoning, for reasons that she didn’t want to think about. 

Well, they’d have to leave sometime. Just before the moment got awkward, Besany nodded her head politely and turned around to enter the building. Behind her, she could hear Ordo’s armored feet getting steadily farther away. She felt a rush of irrational sadness, then crushed it with the thought that she would hear from him another time. _There’s time to be sad later._ Although why she was sad, she couldn’t imagine. Admittedly, it had been a strange night, but she should be _glad_ that it was over. Less complications, no danger. Things would be back to _normal_ , in every sense of the word. No, she was just tired and her emotions were off. _I’ll feel better when I get a good night’s sleep_.

She made her way back to her cubicle, where she knew lay a pile of flimsi waiting there, as usual. As she picked up the one at the top of the pile, she reflected that everything seemed so mundane. Her boring work seemed even more boring in the face of what had occurred last night. It didn’t take long for her brain to go on autopilot with the work – while her thoughts drifted towards the (very dashing) Captain Ordo. 

In her mind’s eye, he was standing at the entrance to the logistics center, as he’d been just a few minutes ago. He had his small half-smile and a tilted head, and his armor had that one scuff on the right vambrace that she’d wondered about, and he smelled faintly of – no. _What’s wrong with me?_ Maybe the PEP laser had some side effects. Like frying your emotions. 

Shaking her head, Besany focused her mind on her work. Corporate tax evasion, just like she’d said to Ordo. The CEO of the company was named Orsal. That sounded like Ordo, didn’t it? And Ordo had such nice eyes, too… 

_Oh, Force. I’m going crazy, aren’t I?_ Besany sighed, buried her head in her hands, and resigned herself to a distracted day at work. 

~

The call came three days after Ordo’s initial farewell to Besany. It’d been a horrible three days for Besany; she’d found it utterly impossible to do any work – all due to random thoughts of Ordo that kept cropping up in the most inappropriate times. At meetings, while she was talking to Jilka, even when she was desperately trying to finish a report by the end of the day. 

Her comlink beeped as Besany was having dinner in her apartment, and Besany hurried over quickly to the desk where her comlink lay, accidentally knocking a ‘pad off in her haste. It was from an unknown caller – Ordo, obviously. Audio-only. 

Fingers slightly shaking – irrationally so, although she’d been getting used to irrational lately – Besany answered it. “Hello?” she said. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ Of course it was Ordo; she didn’t need to say hello like she didn’t know who he was. _Oh gods, he’ll think I’m stupid now_. And then it struck her that she shouldn’t care what he thought of her. He’d met her for less than a day, anyway. The thought spectacularly failed to help her nerves. 

Ordo’s voice crackled on the other end of the comlink. “Hi. Uh, Besany?” His voice was awkward, like he wasn’t used to making social calls. 

“Yes!” Besany said, way too loudly. Gods, her mind really was in shambles, wasn’t it? “Yes, it’s, uh, it’s me.” She cleared her throat and inwardly face-palmed. _That’s what I come up with?_ Real _classy, Besany._

“I noticed.” Ordo’s voice had a distinct tinge of amusement, and Besany flushed with mild mortification. Seemingly unaware of her embarrassment, he continued, “Uh, we made it through. All of us.” 

She focused on making her voice sound as normal as possible. “That’s great news,” she answered, glad her voice was steady. Thank the Force she’d had practice with her job as a tax investigator; she often came into contact with plenty of intimidating characters. But why was talking with Ordo turning her tongue into mush?

There was a pause in the conversation. Ordo cleared his throat. Besany was just about to say goodbye and close the call when Ordo spoke, sounding rather harried and nervous. “Th-There’s a get-together for CSF and special forces tomorrow. It’s, uh, it’s…” He cleared his throat again. “We’ll all be there and – I, uh, I just thought- ” 

“Ordo,” Besany interrupted, her heart (irrationally) lifting at the fumbled invitation. “It sounds great. I’d love to go with you.” 

“Oh. Uh, thanks.” Ordo sounded surprised, like he hadn’t been expecting she’d say yes. 

Besany smiled so wide she thought her face might split in two. “I’ll see you there.” 

“Yeah. I mean, I-I’ll, uh, see you there. Bye.” 

“Bye.” 

The comm call disconnected, and Besany was left in her living room, dancing around excitedly. On the table, her dinner lay forgotten. Besany closed her eyes and stilled her movements, her hands flying up to the grin on her mouth. 

_I shouldn’t be this happy. I am this happy. Why am I this happy? Irrational._ Besany laughed. Not irrational anymore, it seemed – the answer was finally clear to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort of like this one... I dunno, tell me what you think! Reviews are my _food_.


	4. Waking Up

Ordo wakes up to the sound of birds trilling. His first thought is reflexive: he must be in the wilderness, so he has to… no, that's not right. He is in a bed, with a blanket half covering his head – he must have shifted during sleep – and a beautiful woman by his side.  _ Besany _ . Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registers the way her eyelashes shimmer in the golden sunlight. 

Some infinitesimal shifting he must have done creates fluttering eyelashes and sleepy eyes, staring up at him. “Hey, honey,” she murmurs, reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek. 

Ordo finds a lump in his throat that he  _ would _ be worried about – if he isn't so used to the feeling. “Hey,” he whispers, and puts his hand over hers to keep it on his cheek. There is silence from both, because dialogue isn’t  _ necessary _ for them to know what the other is thinking. 

Besany smiles and leans in for a kiss, to which Ordo gladly obliges. They stay in bed for a few more moments, just enjoying each other’s company. Ordo can’t look away from her, can’t believe that this isn’t a dream and he’ll wake up suddenly and be in the barracks, mourning for something he thought he had. (It’s happened to him before.) It takes a few more kisses for him to convince himself it’s real. 

A year ago, even six months ago, he knows, he would never have thought this scene possible. To him, it would have been a privilege meant only for civvies. For once, he’s glad to be wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short! I wanted to write more, I really did, but the Force wasn't with me and I had writer's block. :'( 
> 
> Anyway, please give kudos and reviews and I'll love you forever!


	5. Roses Are Red

It was, Besany reflected, all a matter of having your priorities straight. _First_ dinner, _then_ wait anxiously for a call from Ordo. He’d said earlier that day that he could _possibly_ , just _maybe_ , drop by for a quick visit.

Her comlink lay suspiciously quiet as Besany sat alone at the table, eating a lonely meal. She put on a cheesily romantic holo to keep herself occupied, but soon discovered it was about a soldier trying to survive in war to get back to his sweetheart. The irony of the holovid wasn’t lost on her, _especially_ when the soldier went through a grand total of seven near-death experiences. Feeling sickened with thoughts of Ordo undergoing that daily, Besany switched it off. Of course, it hadn’t even been factually accurate (nobody’s face was _that_ perfect after surviving a fistfight – Besany should know), but the thought didn’t help with her fretting and she found herself absentmindedly chewing a fingernail as she moved to the kitchen to clean the dishes. She ended up cleaning them three times over, and then cleaning the entire kitchen, just to keep herself busy.

The night passed with no sign of Ordo. Besany woke up several times in cold sweat to nightmares of Ordo lying dead on a dusty battlefield, helmet blown off and his armor destroyed, glassy eyes staring up. It was that kriffing holovid, she _knew_ it. _I should never have watched it_. Mopping her face with a corner of her shirt, she turned over and went back to sleep.

~

 The morning brought a fresh(er) outlook on life, and things didn’t seem quite as dreary as they had last night. As Besany was just about to leave for work, she noticed there was an unread message on her comlink. Unknown number, but then, the more she got involved with Kal, the more she was getting used to it. Sent from 2:19 in the morning.

Besany read the message and smiled.

It was a short message from Ordo, which – despite its length – lacked for nothing in warmth. Simply put, he apologized for not making it back last night, told her it was because of a last-minute issue (classified), wanted to know how she was, how work was going, and he sent her his love. Besany’s heart warmed and the last of her worries vanished. For a guy who reputedly had such a social disability, Ordo could be one of the most charming men in all of Coruscant.

The last line of the text was much more cryptic. It read, _Go outside_.

Puzzled, Besany complied – and found herself almost stumbling over about two dozen roses that had been left at her apartment door. They were still freshly picked – must have been delivered quite early – and were tied together with a small ribbon and a little pink “To – From” card, no doubt from the florist’s, which had been left unfilled. Besany laughed and quickly picked them up, putting them in a vase with water that she had dug up from the bottom of the kitchen cabinet.

She stepped back to admire them, sitting on the table – then realized that she was almost late and would have to run to catch the train.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't be posting as frequently anymore, because school has started and I know I'm gonna be swamped with homework by next week - I'll try, I promise! 
> 
> This one took a while to write, mainly because of lack of inspiration. Let me know what you think!


	6. Creation

The news arrives in the form of a shrieked “Ordo!” from the bathroom. It’s Besany.

Ordo, stopping only to grab a gun, races to the bathroom, shoving open the door, ready to stop the threat. However, the bathroom is empty but for his wife, standing in front of the mirror, staring at something clutched in her hand. Ordo moves in cautiously, edging to her side so he can see what’s in her hand. _It could be a bomb, it could be a bomb…_ Just the thought terrifies him.

Besany turns towards him, and his heart lurches, until he notices that she’s not scared, and in her hand is a pregnancy detector. _Is she…?_ Besany has a tearful, tremulous smile, as if she’s unable to believe it. Ordo relaxes his stance, drops his gun, and slowly moves towards her. For an entirely different reason, his heart is lurching now, his mind quite unable to think of anything other than that small white device held in Besany’s hand.

“Ordo,” she whispers, her eyes shining. “I’m _pregnant_.”

Ordo feels like dropping to his knees, but instead he reaches across and grasps Besany’s arm. Pulling her close to him, he starts to smile uncontrollably. With her chest pressed against his, he can feel Besany taking deep breaths, half-sobbing, half-laughing.

It turns out, he realizes, it’s not at all hard to think of a future for himself.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I have no idea how pregnancies are identified by non-Force-users in the Star Wars universe; I just did something vaguely related to how we do it here on Earth.


	7. Stay

The headlong dash towards death isn't something Ordo thinks often about – it's just something that comes with the job description. He's been bred not to think about it, for fear that he might stop running; whether or not it’s he who has the fear, or the Kaminoans, is never understood. But the urge to run, it's been drilled into him so many times, until he's afraid that the man that he could be is slowly getting buried, suffocated alive by the orders. He wants it to stop, is what he tells himself. But deep down, it’s quite clear to him that if someone were to call on him to suddenly, one day, just quit, he wouldn’t know what to do.

Until.

Besany is lying next to him on the bed, her eyes closed and lips slightly parted, warm even breaths against his skin, making it tingle. Not quite asleep yet, he looks down and, with the full moon shining light through the blinds, he touches her face, too gently to be felt. She’s so beautiful. He can’t believe she’s really there.

Before he’d arrived at her apartment, the day hadn’t been going well. The mission he’d been given – simple enough as it should have been, a routine information-gathering – had taken a week to do, and today, on the last day, was diverted by one loud-mouthed Rodian who hadn’t had quite the sense to shut up before someone heard what he was talking about. Well, that Rodian wasn’t going to be spilling secrets anymore. But the damage had already been done, and Ordo had had to make a strategic withdrawal, known more commonly as a _retreat_ , although the word gave him a sour taste in his mouth. Of course, he still got the information – but now it would be a hell of a lot harder to go back in and get more. 

So he’d headed back here, with deeply buried hopes of a warm welcome, still not quite sure he would receive it. Did Besany even want him around?

When he visited, Ordo only stayed for a few hours before leaving for the barracks – just enough time for a dinner with her and perhaps half of a holovid. He wasn’t exactly Mereel, and he didn’t expect Besany to be anyone other than a tired woman with a boyfriend that she was regretting. They were still getting to know each other; _no hurry_ , it seemed, was the unspoken agreed-upon motto.

Things were never quite what they looked to be. Ordo had been about to leave, and Besany, who had always been the one to smile gently and let him go, grabbed his arm and told him, “You look tired. Want to stay the night?”

Who had he been to refuse? He’d commed ahead, told Kal’buir, and with a strange sense of embarrassment was told that he could damn well do what he wanted with his life. Not in those words, of course, but the gist of the message was the same. So Ordo stayed.

Their first night together hadn’t been the wildly romantic thing Mereel was always going on about. They’d washed dishes together and cleaned up the table, and then they’d washed up – he’d had to borrow a toothbrush, to his chagrin – and headed to bed. He’d discovered that her nightdress was blue and that her toenails were painted red – the same red as his own armor. All in all, an understated night that Ordo liked better than any brags Mereel made about his one-night stands.

And as he watched her slip into bed, as he kissed her a soft goodnight, as he lay here and admired her, it wasn’t an abstract thing. It was almost as if… as if there was a future for him and her. Underneath all those orders was a man, surfacing unexpectedly when this love was around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes... what a comments box that seduces you into typing into it ;)   
> Oh look, there's even a kudos button!


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